Trench of Two Lovers
by hi there flamingo
Summary: The gang is visiting the Western Air Temple when Toph and Sokka get pushed off the edge of the courtyard and descend into the trench below. Now they have to find a way out safely while tolerating each other... this shall be interesting. Discontinued.
1. The Descent

"It's funny how after a few months the architecture still looks amazing here," Suki commented, gazing around at the air temple ruins.

Two months had passed since the war ended. The world still remained orderly with Zuko positioned as the Fire Lord. Everything in the world was filled with bliss. Everyone treated everyone nicely, like they've been friends for years. The way the people of the world were conversing with each other seemed too good to be true.

Not much in the gang had changed since the resolve of the war. Zuko was still dating Mai… Sokka was still dating Suki… and Aang was now happily with Katara. Toph, however, had a new rank in the group: the third wheel. Everyone else had someone they were with all the time. She was sick of turning every corner to "see" a couple of her friends kissing or holding hands. It disgusted her.

The group of teenagers was visiting the Western Air Temple to recall those memories from months before and to proceed with the Avatar's training. Aang was still mastering the elements and continued his training in case the world went into a state of crisis and needed his help.

The collection of reversely constructed temples looked about the same. Crumbling pillars here and there with water fountains in every courtyard which all managed to spurt water continuously to this day.

The group just arrived at the sanctuary. They all stood in the main courtyard which they first landed on after the invasion plan failed. Before escaping to Ember Island after Azula attempted to eradicate Zuko from existence, this courtyard is where they spent most of their time.

"Hey Zuko, do you remember? This is where we first showed everyone 'The Dancing Dragon'," Aang evoked as he stood in the exact spot of the past occurrence.

Zuko walked towards the boy and joked, "How could I forget? Everyone couldn't stop teasing us,"

The team shared a soft chuckle.

"And this is where Combustion Man tried to kill us," Sokka added.

"Don't forget my sister," Zuko reminded him.

Suki laughed as Sokka wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "Wow, it seems like everyday you guys spent here you were getting attacked by some psycho." Suki covered her mouth with her hand after she realized what she had just said was a delicate topic. "No offense," she quickly added.

Zuko brushed his hand against the rough cement of the pillar beside him. "It's okay. We all know Azula was a little- uh… difficult," he said.

Katara joined the conversation, "You know, even after getting attacked by all those people, it's still nice to be back,"

"Well, enough standing around!" Aang cried as he bounced up into the air. "Let's get some training on!"

The rest of the gang shrugged and met up later a couple temples below where there was more space to engage in combat. Zuko, Mai, Sokka, and Toph formed one team while the other consisted of Suki, Katara, and Aang. Each person held their weapon of choice or readied their element of which was their forte. The two lineups stretched across the square and glared at the person who stood opposite of them. All was quiet excluding a gentle breeze which whistled in everyone's ears. It was like an old western movie. Each team was waiting for the signal to attack. Those who could've been there to witness it might've seen a tumbleweed roll by.

"ATTTTTAAAAACCKKKKKKKKKKK!!!" Sokka boomed, swinging his replacement sword in front of him.

Immediately, pairs of dueling teens were created unintentionally. Mai and Suki were engaging in an intense brawl of fans and throwing stars while Zuko and Katara started to assault one another with their native element. Toph chucked numerous boulders at Aang and he evaded them all by running on the walls of the near by temples like a spider. Sokka charged at Zuko with his silver sword pointed forward. Zuko put his hand out flatly and had to remind the water tribe boy that they were on the same team.

Suki knocked Mai off her feet for just a second but swiftly moved on to her next opponent. She surprised Sokka from behind and twisted his unarmed arm behind his back. Sokka whirled around and swung his sword horizontally. Suki nearly broke her back dodging the blade by bending backward Matrix style. She strategically had the point impale the paper part of her fan. She closed the fan on the sword and was able to twist it from Sokka's grip. Suki almost had Sokka in a pinch since he was unarmed, but Mai came to her teammate's rescue and pinned Suki to the ground with her throwing stars.

Zuko was pitching fists engulfed in fire left and right at Katara. He was slowly pushing her to the edge of the courtyard by firing fiery fists at her endlessly. With about an inch left of space to walk on, Aang saw Katara was about to fall to her death and struck Zuko with a blast of air. Katara quickly realized how close she was to the edge and scurried back to the safe middle. Next, she and Toph began to launch attacks at one another.

Now it was Aang versus Zuko. Fire against Air. Aang was darting across the ceiling above everyone's heads to avoid Zuko's balls of fire. Aang dropped in the center of the floor where all the action was. Zuko followed him there and soon the entire collection of teens was gathered in the middle having an all out tussle. Everyone happened to circle Aang who was standing there aimlessly. The boy panted heavily as he watched his friends aim their weapon of preference at him. All at once, Katara whipped her water whip, Zuko fired a stream of fire, Toph chucked a chunk of rock, and those armed with something else utilized those as well, all at Aang. Aang jumped boundless feet into the air and managed to circumvent each assail.

However, each element collided with one another and caused an explosion. Fire lashed out in all directions and the ground shook as if an earthquake was taking place. The blast caused dust to rise and hover in the air, so it became virtually impossible to see anyone. The explosion created a powerful force which sent everyone flying back. Suki and Zuko went one way while Katara and Mai went the other. Toph and Sokka skidded violently across the ground and the two of them were propelled off the side of the cliff.

Toph tried to save herself by grabbing a hold of the earth, but she was unsuccessful. Toph and Sokka began to fall to their death, both of them screaming for their lives. Sokka looked down and the drop appeared endless. It looked like they were going to fall forever.

The dust cleared and straight away Katara noticed Sokka and Toph were missing. She hustled to the edge of the courtyard and glanced down to see nothing but a shifting layer of fog. Katara got back on her feet and looked around once more just in case she overlooked them, but they were gone. She knew they were falling to the depths of the trench which the Western Air Temples were suspended over.

"Oh no, Toph and Sokka fell off the edge!" Katara exclaimed in horror.

"I'll get Appa. Maybe it's not too late to fly down and save them," Aang determined.

As quickly as he could, the Avatar hopped on his flying bison and headed down the trench. He bended the fog around him out of the way so he could see better, but there was too much. The pit was endless and the amount of white haze was infinite. Aang dropped his arms, causing the air in the fog to vanish and droplets of water to descend from the small cloud he had created. He clenched the reins on Appa tightly in anger. He couldn't believe that two of his best friends had disappeared in just seconds. He didn't know how he was going to return with this news to his other friends.

Appa landed on the square courtyard with a grunt. Aang pulled his knees to his chest and refrained from looking the majority of his friends who had survived in the eyes. Katara's eyes flooded with tears as did Suki's. Zuko's jaw dropped and Mai hugged him comfortingly since she did not know the two that well. Aang didn't have to say a word. They all knew the news.

Meanwhile, Toph and Sokka were still plummeting. It felt like they had been falling for ten minutes. Their throats grew dry and they could no longer scream for mercy. Toph had no idea what to expect at the bottom. She felt truly blind with no earth surrounding her. Sokka was also blind due to the fact that the fog covered everything. He guessed it was a good thing, because if he saw the earth approaching then he'd see his death approaching.

"Toph, grab my hand!" Sokka shouted over the roar of the wind in their ears.

"I'd love to but I can't exactly see where you are at the moment!" Toph pointed out audibly.

Sokka was able to push himself through the air over towards Toph. He grabbed her small hand, which was rough and worn. Sokka's strong hand cradled her fragile one. The two fit together perfectly.

Sokka's heart sank and he began to panic when the fog cleared and he saw the rocky bottom advancing towards them.

"Toph, quick, earthbend a sand pit below so we can land in it safely," Sokka instructed.

"Are you crazy? I can't bend earth I can't feel," she told him assertively.

"Just try!" Sokka squealed, covering his eyes in fright.

Toph closed her eyes and forcefully swung her arms downward then shifted them around her waist. The earth below twisted then transformed into loose sand. Toph and Sokka plunged far below the surface of the sand and found themselves unable to dig themselves out. They were losing air and the dirt was crushing them. Toph was able to bend a platform of earth below Sokka and her. She stomped on the platform which caused the chunk of earth to go flying up towards the surface.

Sokka stabbed his sword into the solid and ground and managed to drag Toph and himself out of the sand. The two laid there for a couple minutes to catch their breath. They had just cheated death twice.

"Are you alright?" Sokka asked the blind earthbender in a pant.

Toph replied sarcastically, "I'm dandy,"

After regaining their strength for a couple more minutes the two stood up to evaluate their surroundings. Sokka couldn't believe what just happened and where they were. Everything in the trench was grey and dark. A murky haze hung in the air. The walls of the trench were ornamented with roots and a few twiggy shrubs were distributed in the narrow pass. Insects crawled everywhere and a small creek trickled down the gorge. The ground was muddy and wet. It made it difficult to see for Toph.

"I don't like this place," Sokka quivered as he rubbed his arms.

"Gee, really? Because I can't get enough of it," Toph continued with her sarcasm.

"This can't be happening! What if there are mole people down here?! They could eat us or something!" Sokka shouted shrilly in fear. He ran around like a maniac while panicking over the unrealistic incident.

"Would you calm down? If there were any mole people they would've gotten us by now," Toph joked.

Sokka shook Toph's shoulders frantically, "Now is not a time to stay calm!"

"Listen, with the way I see it we'll be able to get out of here in no time," Toph assured the boy.

Sokka sighed in relief, "Can you feel the exit to this place anywhere?"

Toph burrowed her hands underground in order to feel the vibrations and sense the nearest way out. It took her a couple of moments since the dirt was so moist which caused her senses to blur. Toph stood up and the dusted the filth off her hands.

"This thing goes on for miles… I'm not positive of which way we should go," Toph confessed.

Sokka slapped his hands to his cheeks and yanked them downward. "What?! This is just great! I haven't eaten anything all day and now we have to starve until we get out of here,"

"I don't know, Sokka. It could take us days to get out of here," Toph told him.

Out of no where, Sokka cocked his head back and began screaming, "SUKI! KATARA! AANG! ZUKO! HELLLLOOOOOO!?"

Toph punched his arm aggressively. "Will you shut up?" she ordered irritably. "Let's just figure a way out of here. We've experienced near death twice already and we've only been stuck down here for five minutes and already you're annoying the badger moles out of me,"

"Well, excuse me for being concerned for our safety," Sokka said as he crossed his arms.

Toph rubbed her chin as she began to ponder. There were two ways to go: left or right. As far as she could feel each direction felt the same distance long.

"Hmmm, which way should we go?" Toph asked aloud in contemplation.

Suddenly, they heard an earsplitting, high pitched screech come from the right. The two jumped and grabbed each other instinctively. They shook in fear as they slowly began to tip-toe towards the left.

"I vote we go left," Sokka trembled.

Toph quickly replied, "I second that."

**A/N: Please review! Tell me what you liked, didn't like, what I need to work on, or something you might like to see happen in the future. One small review makes all the difference! If I don't get too many I might not continue it...**


	2. The Ambush

**A/N: Happy Tokka week, fellow shippers!**

Toph and Sokka had been walking for what seemed weeks. The trench had grown darker which suggested to Sokka that it was nightfall. Their stomachs ached from lack of food but they crept forward, moving only inches at a time since the two could barely feel their legs.

The long, narrow pit which the blind earth bender and water tribe warrior had been stranded in for the past six hours was quiet. It was so far below sea level there was no wind, just an eerie chill which kept constant goose bumps persisting on their skin. Toph would guess that for the past hour Sokka grew so bored that he felt it was necessary to sing about his ailments. He did this in a blues styling.

"Na na na na, oh I am so hungry… Na na na na, my legs feel like pudding… Na na na na, I need some food before my head explodes. OH! Na na na na… I am a walking with Toph… Na na na na, she is an earthbender. Na na na na, she's gonna get us out of here so I can eat! Woo hooooooo, yeah!"

Alls Toph could say was: "That was beautiful, Sokka,"

"I made it up myself," Sokka kidded.

Sokka inhaled mass amounts of air, alerting Toph that he was readying himself to embark on another trail of blues songs.

Toph seized him from singing any further by proposing, "Let's set up camp for the night,"

Sokka gathered some rather pathetic twigs to attempt to start a camp fire while Toph constructed their rocky tent. Toph next bended two rocks near Sokka's pile of kindling that would be suitable for the two of them to sit on. Sokka finished garnering wood and got on his knees to start the fire. He scratched two feeble sticks against one another and within seconds the twigs snapped in half. He tried again and again but the sight only served well as amusement for Toph. She laughed quietly to herself as the brown haired boy continued to try and fail again. Boy, how they wish they had Zuko with them at that moment.

"Never so much have I wanted a firebender within easy access than now," Sokka grumbled as he rubbed the last of his thin branches together.

"Whatever, let's just go to sleep," Toph insisted while yawning.

The two crawled into their tent which was merely a rocky roof suspended above their heads. They were forced to sleep on the solid ground which Toph didn't mind so much, it let her have a clearer view while she tried to fall asleep. Soon enough, the exhausted teenagers were slumbering soundly. The trench was still and somehow tranquil is some odd way.

It was well into their fourth hour of sleep when Toph could sense numerous figures approaching them. She awoke violently before shuffling over next to Sokka to warn him of the impending threats.

Toph shook the boy's shoulder vigorously, "Sokka, wake up, quick," she whispered, "I think something's coming towards us,"

"Don't be silly. There's no sword fights in Gran Gran's jelly," Sokka giggled drowsily before rolling over and resuming his rest.

"C'mon Boomerang Boy, this is no time to be kidding around," Toph ordered assertively.

Toph dragged Sokka outside by the wrist. Sokka stabilized himself and rubbed his eyes to cleanse them of their tiredness. His jaw dropped and his eyes practically popped out of his head when he spotted at least two dozen canyon crawlers heading towards them.

"What do we do? We're out numbered. There's no way we can fight all of these things off just the two of us," said Toph.

Sokka turned his head in all directions searching for a secret trail they could escape on, but every path he saw there was canyon crawler on it. They were quickly swarming the twosome. Toph and Sokka had no where to run.

"It doesn't look like we have much of a choice," Sokka pointed out.

Before they could get any closer, Toph and Sokka simultaneously charged at the nearest ant-like beast. The canyon crawlers each had four, lanky insect legs and a large abdomen which was covered in course, brown fur. Their long snouts were chalk full of tiny, razor sharp teeth and on each side of their head were eight, beady red eyes. The insect monsters were nimble and extremely intimidating. They could smell food from miles away and defeated foes by swinging them through the air and snapping their bones like twigs.

Sokka managed to uppercut two canyon crawlers before getting captured by another. Toph was busily pounding rocks into the beasts so she didn't notice Sokka was in trouble until he started screaming like a little girl. Toph spun around and bended a rock right from underneath the canyon crawler which had Sokka in its grasp. The beast released the boy after being stabbed in the stomach and sent flying through the air. That was one more taken care of.

After saving Sokka's butt, Toph almost forgot to protect her own. She swiftly recommenced chucking massive boulders at the canyon crawlers and Sokka went back to slashing them with his sword. The two were growing tired and they were still lethargic from the long day and their sleeping being cut short.

All hope was lost when they saw a new group of canyon crawlers making their way down the sides of the trench. They climbed down the grimy walls like spiders and released shrill cries to the rest of their pack whilst doing so. Sokka wondered why the canyon crawlers were attacking them since they had no food and these beasts weren't known for eating humans. However, he realized with the scarcity of life and edible comestibles down in the trench, these canyon crawlers had to resort to eating anything with a pulse in order to survive. The fiends' mouths dripped with glutinous drool as the massive herd pinned the duo to the wall.

Sokka gulped, "We're trapped,"

"I guess this is it," Toph noted sadly.

Sokka looked around one last time for a way to escape. His brain suddenly sprouted an idea and he grabbed Toph's hand and tugged her between a crawler's legs along with him. They slid under the monster's lofty body and Sokka sliced it with his sword as they did so. The ant-like creature let out a deafening cry and Toph and Sokka were able to make it past it. However, that didn't mean the rest of its assembly was going to let them flee.

Before the two continued on in the left direction, Toph wheeled about and constructed a tall barrier composed of earth. She could feel that the canyon crawlers on the other side were simply scaling the blockade in order to reach them, so Toph dropped her hands to the ground which sent the rocky barricade crumbling. Every canyon crawler that had been hiking up the rock-strewn wall tumbled to the ground and got buried by dirt and rocks. Although this had wiped out at least half of the pack, there were still some insect monsters chasing Sokka and Toph.

Sokka once again grabbed Toph's hand. Toph would've cherished the fact that she got to hold Sokka's hand for the third time that day, but her tiny hand was being crushed by Sokka's since he was pulling her along.

They were running a lot slower than before since they were growing tired. The two panted heavily as they evacuated the area. It came to a point where they could barely run any longer. Sokka glanced over his shoulder to see five canyon crawlers gaining on them. Suddenly, being distracted by the horrid sight just feet behind them, Sokka went plummeting to the ground. He had tripped over a boulder protruding out of the earth and his face scraped against the turf below him.

Luckily, as he skidded across the ground, Sokka noticed a large rock just feet away Toph and him could possibly hide behind. Sokka scrambled to his feet and hauled the blind earthbender over towards the boulder. They leaned their backs against the cold, rough surface and attempted to catch their breath. The two watched the canyon crawlers sprint past them. The beasts had disappeared around the corner and the two teens were safe from harm once again.

All of the sudden, one last canyon crawler dipped its head down in front of the two, scaring the living daylights out of them. The beast was posted on top of the rock and was about to snatch Sokka with one of its gangly legs, but Toph kicked the ground which caused a chunk of earth to fly up and hit the crawler in the abdomen and send it soaring through the air. They heard a thunderous thump in the distance indicating that the canyon crawler had plunged to the ground. Toph and Sokka waited for a moment to see if it would come back but it never returned.

"I think that's the last of them," Sokka sighed, still breathless.

"Thank god," Toph exhaled in relief.

While they were trying to catch their breath, both of them accidentally fell asleep leaning against the rock that had saved their lives.

The pair woke up hours later. Toph found herself napping against Sokka's shoulder. The two immediately realized their awkward position and blushed wildly as they backed away from one another. They laughed uncomfortably before getting up to start their walking for the day.

The trench was brighter since it was morning but still ominous and murky as usual. They were starving. It had almost been a full twenty-four hours since they had eaten. So as you might expect, Sokka was whining like a two year old because of his empty stomach.

"Sokka, will you shut up?" Toph demanded irritably. "We're both hungry so just stop complaining and find something to eat,"

"I would love to, Toph. But there isn't exactly anything _to eat_ down here!" Sokka pointed out in aggravation.

Toph grunted angrily and kicked the ground causing it to shake. Out of nowhere, a black, miniscule fleck came flying through the air and landed perfectly in Toph's hand.

"Here, eat this," Toph proposed, holding the black, scaly insect by the tail.

Sokka informed her blatantly, "Toph, that's a scorpion,"

"What?!" she screamed, tossing the tiny creature high into the air. The scorpion landed yards away and curled into a ball like nothing had just happened to it.

"I can't take it anymore!" Sokka declared while yanking on his hair. "We have to get out of here now,"

"And how are we going to do that, Snoozles?" teased Toph.

Sokka rubbed his chin, "I got it! We capture a canyon crawler and tame it to carry us up the trench and back to the Western Air Temple," Sokka explained by articulating with different hand movements.

"While that plan sounds foolproof and all, how exactly are we going to tame one of those dimwitted things that only cares about food?" Toph asked. She laughed, "Now that I think about it those things are a lot like you, Ponytail. Why don't we all just climb on your back and you can take us up the side of the cliff?" Toph joked.

Sokka narrowed his eyes at the girl, "Very funny." Sokka paused for a moment and looked at his surroundings. He then added, "Why don't you just earthbend us all the way to the top?"

"Are you kidding? As amazing as I am, I can't do that by myself. Besides this thing has to be ten miles deep I can't earthbend for that long," Toph truthfully stated.

"So I suppose we're just supposed to find some magic case of stairs that'll lead us to the top then?" Sokka asked sarcastically.

"Hey, don't start pointing fingers at me,"

"I'm not. It just seems like you don't want to get out of here as badly as I do,"

"Oh, like I love being stuck down here with you? I'd rather go head to head with Ozai than be stuck in this place with you," Toph claimed angrily.

"Well you're no afternoon delight yourself," Sokka told her in complete rage.

"You know what? I don't need this. In fact, I don't need you," Toph spun around and began to head the other direction.

As mad as he was, Sokka couldn't let Toph go off on her own. She needed him as much as he needed her.

Sokka stopped her, "Wait a minute, Toph. Don't go. We can't split up. We'd never last if we didn't have each other's backs,"

Toph sighed and agreed, "Yeah, you're right,"

Sokka apologized, "Listen, I'm sorry,"

Toph muffled, pushing past the boy and continuing to walk once again, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, get a tissue if it'll make you feel better."


	3. The Caveman

"Stay still, little grasshopper thing…" Sokka whispered in deep concentration.

The teenage boy hovered over a small, pale insect. He was armed with his sword and his tongue hung out of his mouth. Two days had past and the most Sokka had eaten was some blades of grass. His stomach erupted with frequent grumbles as he and Toph continued their long journey out of the trench and their investigation for food. Sokka raised his silver sword, which was covered in dry, crusted muck, high above his head. The cave-hopper chirped clueless of Sokka's murderous schemes.

"Steady… steady…" Sokka muttered, preparing himself to slay the tiny insect. "GOTCH'YA!" he shouted, swinging his sword downward. But just as he did so, the cave-hopper leapt out of the way, evading the assault.

"This is how it's done, Sokka," Toph told him, lifting a rock with her bending and crushing the grasshopper-like creature with it.

A faint squishing sound could be heard as Toph dropped the moderate sized rock on top of the cave-hopper. Toph kicked the rock back off the ground. Sokka poked his head underneath the boulder and examined the results. The innocent insect was utterly smashed into the crevices of the rock and coated in a layer of dirt.

Sokka frowned in disappointment, "Looks delicious,"

"Whoops," Toph shrugged before tossing the rock far off in the distance.

The ground shook and Toph dusted off her hands like a job well done. Sokka slumped sadly onto the ground and began to dry weep.

"It's not fair," Sokka whined. "Why does everything have to happen to me?"

Toph asked, "What else has happened to you?"

"Well, first I got sneezed on by Appa, then Aang made me nearly drown when he was practicing waterbending, my first girlfriend turned into the moon, I got attacked in a swamp, chased by Zuko's crazy sister, kicked out of a poetry haiku club, nearly killed by Combustion Man, oh and my body got taken over by some insane Fire Nation old lady, and the two of us almost died on the air ships during Sozin's Comet," Sokka rambled, counting the instances off on his fingers. "And there was way more stuff than that too!"

"You're just an unlucky person that's all," Toph told him.

"What?"

Toph dug her finger into her nostril and flicked the article off her finger tip. She then continued, "You got bad luck,"

"Yeah, well… you're uh… short!" Sokka countered.

"You were going to say blind, weren't you?" Toph chuckled in slight pity.

Sokka denied the accusation, "Pfft, no,"

"Let's get walking. I want to get out of this place as soon as possible," Toph suggested, as she climbed off the rock she was sitting on.

The two embarked on their walking for the day. They strutted lazily in silence and barely kept their shoulders suspended properly. Both strolled along like zombies with the back of their hands practically dragging on the ground. They were weary and sore from the constant two day walking they had already suffered through. Today would make it their third.

It was mid-afternoon and the lighting in the confined defile was already beginning to diminish. Today the trench had an especially beautiful array of oranges and pinks that dimly lit the hole which Toph and Sokka ambled through. A thin sheet of fog shifted at their ankles and made it difficult for Sokka to see where he was walking. However, the trench was unusually warm and the ambiance of the whole place almost made Sokka and Toph forget about their hunger.

About an hour later, it was early evening. Enigmatically, Sokka and Toph both heard the quiet, gentle playing of a guitar in the distance. They both picked at their ears, making sure they weren't hearing things. At first, the both of them assumed their starvation was playing tricks on them, but the further they walked the louder and more believable it got.

"Do you hear that?" Sokka finally asked, being drawn to the tranquil, harmonious sound.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one. I thought I was going crazy for a minute," said Toph in relief.

They spotted a crack in the trench wall up ahead. As they got closer, Sokka could see large quantities of smoke emanating from the large opening in the rocky wall. The two could also hear the soft playing of the guitar echoing from the small cavern.

"Is someone in there?" Sokka asked Toph, knowing she could most likely sense if there actually was a human being living in the cramped fissure.

"I didn't believe it at first… but yeah, there seriously is someone inside this crack," Toph informed him.

Sokka sprung forward, "Excellent! Maybe they have some food and know a way out of here!" he exclaimed before entering the cave without hesitation.

Inside looked like a place where a troll might live. The space looked composed of a living room and a kitchen and on the far wall was a curtain which probably led to the occupant's bedroom. The diminutive area was dark with only a couple of candles lit on a few tables to provide some visibility. The four rocky walls which confined the overcrowded space were completely covered in useless garbage and other strange items, such as rusty tin cans strung together, headless dolls, pages of books, exotic looking headbands, a rubber boot, animal pelts, dried cacti nailed to the walls, and sacks filled with buttons, tarnished keys, and old coins.

The couch was a pile of hay covered with a sheet that had numerous patches of different fabrics on it. A wooden chair that appeared to be creaky and about to collapse sat next to the couch and across the room was a small table for two and a counter space where you could prepare meals of some sort. The table was a flat rock and other meaningless items were scattered on the floor and placed in the corners. The cave was very low and throughout most of it Sokka was forced to slightly duck because the space was so small.

A man pushed open the curtain and startled the two teenagers. However, he did not seem alarmed at all. It was then that Toph and Sokka noticed the place had a strange odor to it.

"Whoa, people?" he questioned in disbelief. "Haven't seen a human since I last saw a human."

The man was a little shorter than average with broad shoulders and burly arm muscles. It was a wonder how he fit in this miniscule cavern. He wore loose, tan pants which were badly sewn together. They resembled a potato sack. The man also fashioned a green poncho with knotted tassels dangling from the edge of the fabric. He had a mass of curly red hair on his head and a fuzzy beard. His face was wizened with years of experience but it appeared like he didn't remember much of what he has learned or saw over the course of his life. But overall, the man looked satisfied with everything.

"Hi, sorry to barge in like this but we got lost in this trench and need to get out," Sokka informed the man speedily.

Toph added keenly, "And you wouldn't happen to have any food, would you? We haven't eaten in days,"

"It's funny. Last time I saw humans was six years ago when…" the man stopped and glanced down engrossed in thought, "when the others came…"

Sokka and Toph stared at each other strangely, both perplexed by the man's strange behavior.

The man looked up at the teens once again, smiling, "How can I help you?"

Sokka reminded him, getting a tad impatient, "We _just_ said we wondering if you knew a way out of here,"

"And if you had any food," Toph extended.

"Oh, of course!" he exclaimed, tossing his arms up in the air.

Minutes later, Toph and Sokka found themselves sitting at the man's rocky table, watching him prepare them some comestibles. He sauntered over and placed a plate in front of each of them. Neither Toph nor Sokka took the time to examine their meals. Immediately, the two snatched the rations of food off their plates and shoved them into their mouths. Sokka continued to make soft munching sounds as he chomped on the strange plants that the caveman had provided. Toph basically inhaled the plants and cleared her plate in seconds. The man was happy to give them more.

Sokka stuffed another herb into his mouth, "These taste horrible," he commented yet ironically continued to engorge himself.

"What are these?" Toph asked as she took a bite of another one.

They were stumpy, swelled plants the color of burnt wood. The vegetation was dry and it painfully stabbed the two in the mouth with its thorns as they proceeded to feast on them. Toph and Sokka both thought the plants tasted awful but they did not care. They hadn't eaten in two days. They were about ready to start snacking on their own legs.

"I call 'em 'prickers'," the man chuckled.

"Why?" Toph questioned.

"Ohhhh, I get it! Because they prick you on the insides of your mouth as you eat them," Sokka guessed.

The man chuckled again, "I never thought of it that way. That's funny,"

Sokka exchanged another look of bewilderment with Toph. This man definitely behaved strangely.

"So my free wanderers, what are your names?" the man sat down and asked them politely.

"Well, I'm Sokka and this is Toph," Sokka introduced hesitantly. He wasn't quite sure if he could trust this guy yet.

"The name's Yasuo," he informed them gladly.

After patting his stomach and burping obnoxiously, Sokka stood up and questioned, "Yasuo, if you don't mind me asking, why do you live in this cave?"

The young male threaded his fingers through his tangled hair and explained, "It's all because of the war, man. I used to live on the surface but life where the birds don't sing was just too crazy. So I have my own crazy times down here,"

"Birds don't sing down here either," Toph pointed out rudely.

"Don't you get lonely?" Sokka interrogated.

Yasuo sighed, "My female specimen used to coexist with me in our love cave, but she left years ago…" he bowed his head sadly.

Toph informed him intolerantly, "Well, you know the war _is_ over?"

Yasuo leaned forward and gasped in delight, "It is?!"

"Yep, so you can just move back to the top and everything will return to normal," Toph replied, then reconsidered, "Well, more normal compared to this,"

Yasuo waved his hands in refusal, "No I can't do that. The trench needs me… and I need it,"

Toph raised a brow and stared at the man like he had four heads, "What do you mean the trench needs you?"

"The trench wouldn't be here without me. The trench is here because of me," Yasuo attempted to convince them.

Sokka asked, gesticulating earthbending arm movements and partnering them with sound effects, "So you mean that you earthbended this entire place or something?"

"What's earthbending? The only thing I know of is earth communication. I can talk to the earth. I can feel what it feels. Right now it's sad," Yasuo assured them. He seemed to be in a daze.

Toph walked over to Sokka and elbowed him softly in the ribs. She murmured through her gritted teeth, "This Yasuo guy is insane. Let's ask him how to get out of here and scram,"

"So Yasuo, how do we get out of here?" Sokka asked casually.

The caveman placed his guitar on his lap and began to strum it delicately. "Alls you have to do is listen to the music and let it guide you to your destination of life,"

Toph scowled, "No seriously, where the bleeding hog monkeys do we go?" she asked intolerantly.

"There is no way for certain. As long as you believe in love of each other and love of the earth… the way out will make itself clear to you," Yasuo hummed as he continued to play his guitar.

Sokka slapped his palm to his forehead, "What do you mean there is no way for certain?! There has to be! How else could you have gotten down here in the first place?!" Sokka shouted angrily.

Yasuo tapped his chin in thought, "Hmmm, I don't know. But that's a good question, ponytail guy,"

Toph grunted in aggravation, "I can't take it anymore! We're wasting time so let's just get out of here already!"

Sokka spun around and whispered, "You're right. This guy wasn't helpful at all. It's best just to keep moving,"

"Hey, Yashu-poo," Toph said incorrectly. "We need some grub for the road. You got any?"

"Sure do," Yasuo smiled as he hopped off the couch. "Got plenty of prickers left for you guys to take,"

Sokka grinned unenthusiastically, "Oh, great,"

Yasuo gave two backpacks filled of food to Toph and Sokka for their travels. Their only worries were that the canyon crawlers would smell it and ambush them once again. They were willing to take that risk.

Sokka poked his head in the bag and uttered in disappointment, "No meat?"

"Nope, how could I take a life just to support my own?" Yasuo asked. It was now apparent that he was a vegetarian.

"Easy," Toph responded bluntly.

Yasuo enlightened them, "So remember, my little nomads, just keep heading left and you'll get out of here in no time,"

Sokka's jaw dropped in disbelief, "Why didn't you tell us that before when we asked you?!"

"Asked me what?"

Toph answered irritably, "How to get out of this stupid place!"

"I don't recall that. Anyway, Soph and Tokka, I enjoyed the company. You know what they say? 'Those who have lemons don't have limes'," the man recited.

Toph responded, "I've never heard anyone say that ever."

The two received a hug from Yasuo. He almost began to tear up. He then went into his back room and emerged with a strange necklace. It was strung together with large animal teeth, beads, and acorn tops. Hanging from the center was a flat, oval pendant which was printed with pink, red, and white oleanders. The pendant was beautiful but the rest of the necklace was ruined by the unwanted and repugnant animal teeth.

"Okay, my courageous voyagers, I want you to have this. It'll give you luck on your journey and hopefully be of some use to you," Yasuo presented the bizarre jewelry to Sokka and he accepted it politely.

Sokka and Toph said their last good-byes to their newly acquired friend Yasuo. He stood at the entrance to the cave and waved dopily as the two disappeared into the fog. Nightfall was approaching so the duo decided to stop and set up camp for the night. Once again Sokka attempted to create a fire but remained unsuccessful. The two gave up and went to bed, cradling their sacks of food to protect them. Tucked inside Sokka's was the odd necklace Yasuo gave them. Sokka was sure that he would never wear the ugly piece of work and probably toss it in some corner and never think about it again once they got out of this place. The pair slept soundly with full stomachs and spent the rest of the night slumbering.

**A/N: Please review! Constructive critism is welcome and greatly appreciated.**


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